Datheus Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 I'm wondering what does "ja" mean in a sentence? I, of course, know it means "yes". But it also seems to be used as a intensifer, something like "sehr". "Das ist ja besser." seems to put a lot of emphasis on "besser", and would translate something like, "That is MUCH better!" rather than just "That is better." (I have no idea if this example is grammatically correct.) Please! Fill me in! Also, I'm looking for a forum where (good, grammatically correct) German is spoken as the norm. I'm looking to try and submerse myself in the language as I'm learning it. Now, since I live in America, that's a little tough to do. Luckily, the internet is here to help. I know the links can't be posted here, but perhaps someone could PM me a link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dagobahn Eagle Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 "Das ist ja besser."I think it means "yes, that's better". Also, I'm looking for a forum where (good, grammatically correct) German is spoken as the norm. Well, it's the Internet, so there are bound to be typos. I'd suggest just browsing for German forums. You'll find something. Watching German movies should help, too. German is one tough language to learn. I learned it as my third language through six years of schooling (I'm finally done with it in school for now:p), and it's not easy. It's rewarding when you finally feel you master it, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiE23 Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Wait, so you studied it for 6 years and you're not even sure if "Das ist ja besser" is right? I'd think it'd be "Ja, das ist besser." or "-sehr besser." I took German for 2 years >_> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datheus Posted October 8, 2006 Author Share Posted October 8, 2006 http://dict.tu-chemnitz.de/dings.cgi?lang=en&service=&opterrors=0&optpro=0&query=ja&dlink=self&comment= You can look here to see a whole list of examples of what I'm talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Jones Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 I'm wondering what does "ja" mean in a sentence? I, of course, know it means "yes". But it also seems to be used as a intensifer, something like "sehr". "Das ist ja besser." seems to put a lot of emphasis on "besser", and would translate something like, "That is MUCH better!" rather than just "That is better." (I have no idea if this example is grammatically correct.) Hm. "Das ist ja besser." on it's own doesn't really makes much sense (and is kind of bad German too ). Basically this sentence just means "this is better" (no "much"), and the "ja" would kind of stress the plain fact that it *really is* better than something else. That's why a sentence like this is hardly found 'standalone'. So "ja" having another meaning than "yes" simply underlines the comparison/phrase it stands in context to. The best translations I can think of here would be simply, just, truly or maybe without question. Like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dagobahn Eagle Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 Wait, so you studied it for 6 years and you're not even sure if "Das ist ja besser" is right?Shaddup, you:p. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTV2 Posted October 10, 2006 Share Posted October 10, 2006 the "ja" is unnecessary, it still means the same thing without it. weird site though, it says "Ja, klar" means just "Yeah", when i thought it meant something like "I understand" or a word-for-word translation to "Yes, clearly" or you could just say "alle ist klar" which means pretty much the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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